iHeartMedia To Acquire Triton Digital
• iHeartMedia announced it has entered into an agreement with The E.W. Scripps Company to acquire Triton Digital® for $230 million. With this acquisition, iHeartMedia will now be able to provide audio content to producers and advertisers with an industry-leading full ad service package for streaming and podcasting no matter their size, reach or distribution method.
“Adding Triton Digital and its industry leading services to the iHeartMedia audio ecosystem establishes iHeartMedia as the only company with a total audio advertising technology and data solution,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman & CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. “iHeart, with our strong leadership position in podcasting, digital radio and broadcast, already provides cutting edge audio management, programmatic and data solutions for the broadcast radio, digital audio and podcasting industries, and this acquisition further strengthens our position as the No. 1 audio company in America and provides unique — and critical — solutions for the industry and for advertisers.”
“We are thrilled to join the iHeartMedia family,” said Neal Schore, CEO of Triton Digital. “We remain deeply committed to providing the world’s broadcasters, podcasters, and online audio publishers with continuously innovated, best-in-class solutions and services for online audio management, advertising, and consumption data, and are well positioned to enhance iHeartMedia’s value proposition to audiences and advertisers.”
Scripps — which sold its podcast company Stitcher in October and nearly doubled its return on that investment –was an early entrant into podcasting and digital audio. “The sale of Triton creates significant value for Scripps’ shareholders and employees, as we close a chapter on our growth of digital audio businesses through a series of successful transactions and a focus on prudent operations, including our core TV business,” said Adam Symson, Scripps President & CEO. “We believe iHeartMedia is a perfect fit for Triton Digital given their focus and position as the leader in audio solutions.”
The acquisition of Triton Digital is the latest of iHeartMedia’s investments in the audio technology space — in October 2020, iHeartMedia acquired Voxnest, the leading marketplace for podcasts and provider of podcast analytics, enterprise publishing tools, programmatic integration and targeted ad serving. Over the past two and a half years, the company has also acquired Jelli Inc., Radiojar, the centralized, cloud-based audio playout platform, through iHeartMedia, Inc.’s subsidiary RCS; and Unified, the leading social advertising data intelligence platform and solutions provider. The proposed acquisition is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
